Which Canadians will outperform expectations at 2026 Olympics?

Everyone knows about the big names on the Canadian men’s Olympic hockey team. The likes of Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby, and Cale Makar are all expected to shine throughout the tournament and carry Canada to gold. But what seperates Canada in best-on-best international hockey is the depth they can boast. Players that are stars on their respective NHL teams can be relatively unheralded on Team Canada, making the Olympics an opportunity to make a name for themselves on the world stage.

For the upcoming men’s hockey tournament at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, Canadian players like the New York Islanders‘ Bo Horvat, the Washington Capitals‘ Tom Wilson, or the Montreal Canadiens‘ Nick Suzuki have the chance to showcase their talents internationally and become heroes domestically back in Canada.

On Tuesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, hosts Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton were joined by The Sheet‘s Jeff Marek to discuss which players on Team Canada can outperform expectations in Milan.

Carter Hutton: What player do you think will outperform expectations?

Jeff Marek: Horvat’s one of them. He’s a big piece that can win a draw. You look at this tournament, how many games is it going to come down to, you’re in your own zone and you need someone to win that draw? Now, Canada kind of has an embarrassment of riches there, and we think of Sidney Crosby right away. But look at Bo Horvat. You need a draw, you’re sitting on a one-goal lead. You’re facing off against… pick your team. There’s 20 seconds left in the game and you need to win a draw in your own zone, who’s coming over the boards? Bo Horvat. Bo Horvat is there to win that draw. I also love the conversation around Nick Suzuki. You look at players that are poised to distinguish themselves, I think Nick Suzuki is very much in that class.

You can catch the full discussion and the rest of Tuesday’s episode here…